100 months

September, 2025.  

I've been at this job 100 months.

That puts me in a quiet, reflective mood, and makes me a little nervous. 

Why?   

It's a long time.  Some days unknowns outnumber the knowns.

21 more months here, and this will be the longest I've worked at one place.  I've made it ten years at three previous jobs.  Longer than that is unknown territory.    

I wonder, will this job, by default, define me? 

That's something I've pushed back on.    

When my job and I get so close people can't tell the difference, I get antsy.  

I start thinking, "Is this it?" 

Not sure why that bothers me.   

 

From playing sports, and just trying to survive in a job, I learned that it's ok to be a little complicated.  Hold a little back.  Have something to prove.  To others, and mostly to yourself. 

Everyone sees our outside layer.  The next layer or two is for friends and family.  Much past that and you have to let people in.  

The great philosopher, Shrek, figured this out.   

   

People try to assign you a quick, comfortable label.  Put you in the bigger pecking order, and expect you to stay there.    

That's when my feet get itchy.  I'm a kid back on the bus #42, in Mt. Vernon, with something to prove.  

I can relate to the Reese Bobby, character, from Talledega Nights.  Especially the tinge of nervousness he has when things are going, "a little...TOO good."

    

Reese was a dad.  A lovable, misunderstood character, with limitations.  He sometimes was his own problem.  He had to learn things the hard way.      

Go ahead.  Put a label on me.  

I'll look right at you and smile.

Inside, I'm thinking...

"You think this is it?    

Got me all figured out?"  

"Just watch." 

Years after Talledega Nights, Reese was back on our TV in NCIS, this time as character Alden Parker.  He replaced Leroy Jethro Gibbs as the boss.      

Ole Reese kind of got a promotion.  He must have figured some things out. 

I'm a big fan of the actor, Gary Cole.  Interesting guy!  His bio..  https://www.themoviedb.org/person/21163-gary-cole?language=en-US  

I've read where transitional periods in life have been compared to "mine fields." 

It's a scary comparison.  Scary like teenage years. How about our mid twenties, and all those life choices and changes.  Turning forty, and being forty is scary for alot of people.  Approaching retirement feels the same.  A little scary. 

Transitional periods mark real change.  We're not exactly who we used to be. More of this. Less of that.    

Terri and I are in pre-retirement, and cruising right along.  In the next few years, changes are coming fast.      

Another mine field with more unknowns. 

  

At age 62, two short years from now, Partial SS benefits will be available.  Full SS benefit for me is age 70.  Each year a person waits, there is about a seven percent increase in the SS monthly benefit.

Side note...it's interesting that we refer to SS as a "benefit," when it's our money we paid into the system.  A refund, or repayment is more like it.  And if you pass away before 62? Oh well. They keep it. Your surviving spouse can draw against it at the proper time, but its not the same full "benefit." 

With a wet finger in the air and home made spreadsheets, I track, plot, and plan.  That's how I know I just crossed 100 months. That's how I know I dont really have to be nervous.   

It's my way of attempting to track the knowns, and change unknowns, to possibles. 

Example.  Unknown - Where will our retirement be at age 65?  

Sixty more months.  It will go by fast.  

One of the minimum goals that I set for us is for SS to be less than 50% of total income in retirement. That's one way that I'll know when it's an OK time to retire.      

If we average 4% growth a year on our investments, for the next five years, we will be there.  The earlier unknown now feels more like a possible.  

For the last six years, we have averaged 10.3%.  That includes a dismal -19.3% for 2022.    

The more unknowns I can turn into possibles, the less nervous I am.  We've followed Dave Ramsey, Roy Matlock, and a few other's advice and teachings. We've kept life, and our spending, simple, living within and below our means.  

Most of all, we've kept learning, and stayed with the process.    

It seems like we spend our working lives winding string onto a ball we call retirement.   

Then later we unwind it, and try to enjoy it all. 

So what about the next 100 months?  It will go by fast.  Good Lord willing, that will get me to 68.  

No doubt there will be interesting changes, and challenges.   

I hope to work 4 or 5 more years.  Somewhere around year two, we will start drawing some income from investments.      

The idea is to double dip on investment income, and work income.  And leave the SS alone till later.     

- Slowly unwind some string, and ...

Pay off bills.

Build up cash.  At least 1x our annual income. 

Go to the mountains, the beach, maybe a cruise.  

Give with a charitable and generous spirit.

Learn again how to have and enjoy money.    

Later, in full retirement, I imagine I'll have the same itchy feet and need to keep moving.

Still figuring all that out.       

Don't believe me?  

Still trying to define me?  

Just watch.